


coming of age has come and gone

by the_parentheticals



Series: Projections [2]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Bisexual Colin Creevey, Multi, One-Sided Attraction
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-03
Updated: 2021-01-03
Packaged: 2021-03-13 14:16:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 827
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28529826
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/the_parentheticals/pseuds/the_parentheticals
Summary: a little celebrity crush, isn't it?
Relationships: Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Series: Projections [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2089902
Kudos: 4





	coming of age has come and gone

bi colin creevey with a mild celebrity crush on harry  
you spend your whole life doing slightly strange things.  
and you carry around a camera so you can prove it.  
but you can never catch any of it.  
but you can catch your brother's smile, and your dirty shoes, and you carry around the camera for that.  
and then you discover there are a bunch of people just like you--  
(who can do magic)  
and their greatest celebrity grew up just like you!  
(having no idea about any of this)  
you like him so much! it's just admiration, right?  
you've heard about crushes before, but you can't really have one on him.  
that's silly.  
and then you start following him around everywhere when you get to school because he's a celebrity, you're close to a celebrity!  
and you admire him, whatever he does.  
and then you get petrified and miss everything, and you decide to be quiet next year.  
and to catch up, because you're not going to fail.  
(although you don't miss the chance to get him to sit with you)  
your brother does magic, too, and it's almost enough, to have your two favourite people with you  
and then he comes back holding your classmate's dead body and apparently you-know-who is back...  
and he hates muggleborns and you're a muggleborn and you need to be okay.  
(dennis cries into your robes that night)  
next year there's a horrible, horrible teacher and she's not teaching you anything that's actually useful  
so when your second favourite person starts a club that just might teach you something against her, you accept  
the meetings are communicated by coin  
you brush your fingers against them every night.  
it's also then that you begin realizing that it's maybe not as much admiration as you thought it was  
people don't want to kiss the people they admire most, right?  
not on the lips  
and you feel like you're actually good at magic  
and harry looks at you, and you smile  
it's a crush.  
you stare at harry for so long  
but he only thinks of you as a kid  
but you like him  
the next year you hear he's gotten together (your crush has gotten together) with a girl in your year and you're happy for them!  
you really are!  
you take photos of them in secret  
they're smiling together and they're happy together and that's the most important thing  
and you fling your coin into the lake  
(and at the end of the year you miss a battle you wish you could've taken part in)  
the next year you're not allowed to go back to school  
and dennis is sleeping and you pick up one of his shirts until it burns in your hand  
his coin has a message  
hp at hogwarts  
and then you realize your crush (no you're over him you're going to talk to some other people they seem nice) is back and he's going to fight for the school  
and obviously you have to go  
as soon as you hear, you go, and you leave the house and run away  
to hogwarts  
you're outside, and you're surrounded, and where is everyone? you're so busy looking  
and you turn just enough to see a jet of green light come for you and it's over--  
until it's not.  
you wake up tired and in pain, but you're alive  
where's harry? you think, and you feel guilty about that  
and then you see harry walk past the window, and you want to wave but you settle for smiling.  
"you are very lucky to be alive, mr. creevey," says professor mcgonagall, and you swallow, because she told you not to go  
but the killing curse didn't hit you  
it hit the wall, and so did a stray reductor  
dennis is furious when you tell him, furious that you didn't let him go, and you almost call him a kid  
until you realize that you're tired of being called a kid  
until you realize he's the same age you were when the da started  
and you apologize  
after everything, harry comes out as bi, and he loves ginny just as much as he ever did  
you come out, too, and you go on a few dates with some girls before you realize you're allowed to date boys  
and you do that, too  
the celebrity crush on harry never really goes away and you kick yourself  
you had five years to say you liked him and you didn't and you can't anymore  
because he's happy and you can't ruin that  
but you're still bi, and you still take out your camera for wizard kids and pride  
and you're happy, and that's enough  
epilogue: you confess to harry after a chance meeting in a bar on new year's day after too many drinks, and ginny laughs and shakes her head, and harry looks at you and tells you it's okay.  
and that's finally enough.

**Author's Note:**

> title from peace by taylor swift.


End file.
